Tag Archive

Two weeks have passed since War of the Spark’s release, and we have enough data to start analyzing the new Standard metagame. From the looks of it, the landscape is as diverse as ever, with aggro, midrange, and control strategies each claiming a large slice of the pie. While there are at least a dozen viable strategies, a few decks …

This is the fourth in a series of profiles of the planeswalkers appearing in War of the Spark. In this article, we’ll examine the story of Sarkhan Vol, a dragon-obsessed warrior who has served both Nicol Bolas and his rival Ugin. Disciple of Dragons Sarkhan was born on the plane of Tarkir, in a timeline where the plane’s dragons had …

Until recently, I considered myself a quintessential Harry Potter fan. A “Potterhead” who knew everything from the conversion rates of sickles to galleons (17 to 1), to the wand wood of Ollivander himself (hornbeam), to the Hogwarts House of Moaning Myrtle (Ravenclaw). I even have my own custom designed wand (also made of hornbeam). Before I started playing Magic: The …

War of the Spark Traditional Draft has been live on MTG Arena for a week, and we’ve already had a few opportunities to try out the new format. War draft is more complex than usual, with high-powered cards and complicated interactions in seemingly every game. If you’re still trying to wrap your head around the draft format, we wanted to …

War of the Spark is available today, but its early release online has already given Magic fans ample opportunities to play the new Standard format. The first Magic Online League results are in, and MTG Arena players have been sharing their brews with @arenadecklists on Twitter all week long. While there’s still plenty of room for innovation, we have a …

This is the third in a series of profiles of some of the planeswalkers appearing in War of the Spark. In this article, we discuss the life and work of Tamiyo, a historian who often becomes involved in the events she tries to observe. The Moon Sage Tamiyo is a member of the soratami people from the plane of Kamigawa. …

I’ve always been intrigued by cards whose function matches their flavor. When I was a new player, I remember casting Ambush Viper during my main phase, and a friend showed me how much more powerful the effect would be if I cast it after she declared attackers. “Imagine my creatures charging across the battlefield. Then, out of nowhere, this little …

Good news, Magic fans: You won’t have to contain your hype for War of the Spark much longer. Starting this week, you can finally play War of the Spark – starting Thursday on MTG Arena and at Prerelease over the weekend. We were fortunate enough to play War of the Spark a little early as part of the Early Access …

Wizards of the Coast recently announced a set of 36 alternate-art Planeswalker cards that will be available in Japanese booster packs of War of the Spark. According to Wizards, these alternate-art cards will be found in 50% of Japanese booster packs, and those packs will be available from retailers around the world. The community response to these cards has been …